Opinion

AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON Money and morality make strange bedfellows, and there is no telling how that relationship will work out in different situations.  And there have been plenty of examples of different attitudes in the last couple of weeks to the stuff that makes the world go around. I used to love …

BY JOHN FITZGERALD Part one In 2001, I called to see the revered Raggedy Bush, located about three miles outside Kilkenny along the route to Kells village. I included a chapter about it in my book Kilkenny: People Places Faces, which is now out of print. To an untutored newcomer, unversed in the traditions of …

KATHLEEN FUNCHION Sinn Fein TD for Kilkenny Carlow Carlow Kilkenny Sinn Féin TD, Kathleen Funchion, has called on the government and regulator to ensure that the decrease in wholesale electricity prices is urgently passed on to ordinary workers and families across Carlow and Kilkenny. Teachta Funchion was commenting on the recent figures from the CSO …

BY CLAIR WHITTY I often get asked how to reduce cholesterol naturally. My cholesterol was high and I knew it was related to diet, hormonal changes, and stress and that it was time to do something about it. Other factors that can contribute to high cholesterol include; lack of physical activity, alcohol, smoking, and being …

BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR The Irish banking sector are in the cross-hairs again. Mortgage holders, particularly those on tracker mortgages have born the full weight of recent rate hikes while deposit holders have seen little of the ‘extra income’. Yet, the banks are proposing to lavish share options on their executives because of huge …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER PAUL HOPKINS Come home now, your dinner’s poured out – The Ma. At one time as you grew in years, through late teens and early 20s and even, in a rural setting, your 30s, the above opening line would have been the norm. But life in Ireland evolved and things …

BY JOHN FITZGERALD Arts Week saw the publication of two little gems from writers whose work transcends all social divides (real or imagined), appealing to just about anyone who enjoys a little recreational word-play. Judy Rhatigan and Peter Brabazon launched their books halfway through the hectic seven days of celebration and creativity in the county. …

AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON It’s been a case of goodbye tracksuits and trainers and hello office wear recently as Working From Office morphs into hybrid working. And dress code at work now depends on the type of employment, casual for creatives and IT types or suits for professionals. But suppose you don’t have …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER PAUL HOPKINS Striking firefighters in left their picket line last week to come to the aid of a young woman who had a suspected heart attack. Despite being ‘off the run’, the firefighters immediately responded to the call. Firefighters around the country are involved in a drawn-out strike action where …

FURTHERMORE  By Gerry Moran There are three things that people of my generation know for sure. One: we know for sure where we were when President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States was assassinated (he had visited Ireland a short five months prior to the assassination). Two: we know for sure …